Irish Hotelier John Fitzpatrick Reports Healthy Profit At New York Hotels

Accounts filed by Fitzpatrick Hotels Ltd, the company run by Irish businessman John Fitzpatrick, showed that the group's two New York hotels made a combined after-tax profit of $2.3 million (€2.03 million) last year.

Fitzpatrick Hotels also posted a record occupancy rate of 91 per cent during the same period, reports The Irish Times, which added that its turnover rose by 1.2 per cent to $26.55 million in the year to the end of September 2015.

Fitzpatrick has pointed to the food and beverage success of its Wheeltapper bar and restaurant, located in the four-star Fitzpatrick Grand Central Hotel, as one of the chief reasons behind the boost in profits. Wheeltapper generated revenues of about $4.5 million in 2015.

"It's really the after-work crowd that is driving that business,” said Fitzpatrick "It’s been a great success."

According to The Irish Times, after four years of operating profit growth for Fitzpatrick Hotels, averaging 20 per cent annually, it declined last year to just under $5.1 million from $5.7 million in the previous reporting period.